The textile printing glossary — thread count, GSM and more, explained.

Piegādes laiks

Elapsed time between order receipt and dispatch. Distinct from delivery time (which adds carrier transit). Fabrixa’s standard lead time is 6–9 business days for apparel, 6–10 for printed home textiles from Spain, 5–7 for fabric per metre and 2–3 for sublimation pieces from the Netherlands.

Mercerisation

Cotton processing step where yarn or fabric is treated with caustic soda under tension. Increases tensile strength, sheen, and dye uptake. Mercerised cotton is the foundation of premium reactive-printed apparel because it accepts colour more vibrantly.

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)

The smallest order a producer will accept. Traditional textile manufacturing has MOQ in the hundreds or thousands. Print-on-demand models offer MOQ 1 — the same SKU in single units. MOQ 1 with industrial print quality (vs MOQ 1 with consumer-grade DTG) is what distinguishes premium POD from bulk POD.

OEKO-TEX standarts 100

Independent textile certification covering chemical safety. Class I (the strictest) certifies products safe for babies and skin contact. Tests for over 100 harmful substances including heavy metals, pesticides, formaldehyde, and AZO dyes.

See also: GOTS

Organic cotton

Cotton grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, from non-GMO seeds, processed without harmful chemicals. Certified by GOTS or USDA Organic. Premium textile production typically uses organic cotton because it accepts reactive dye more uniformly.

Pigmentu druka

Print method where coloured pigment is bonded to fabric via a polymer binder. Sits on top of fibres rather than bonding chemically. Cheaper than reactive printing but lower wash durability and stiffer handfeel. Used in high-volume commodity printing.

See also: Reaktīvā drukāšana

Print-on-demand (POD)

Production model where each item is manufactured only after the customer order is placed. Eliminates inventory risk for the seller. Quality varies enormously by print method: DTG-based POD is consumer-grade; reactive-print POD (rare) is premium-grade.

Pre-treatment

Chemical solution applied to fabric before printing to optimise dye uptake. Reactive printing uses an alkaline pre-treatment that activates the cellulose for bond formation. DTG uses pre-treatment on dark fabrics to create a white base layer for ink visibility.

Print on demand vs. dropshipping

Print on demand means a product is made only after it is ordered: you sell your design, and the producer prints, finishes and ships each order. Dropshipping means you sell goods that a third party already holds in stock and ships for you; nothing is made to order. Fabrixa is print on demand: every order is produced from one piece in Portugal, Spain or the Netherlands.

See also: Print on Demand Latvija

Print on demand profitability

The margin per piece is your selling price without VAT, minus the production price and the shipping cost per piece. With print on demand nothing is produced or paid for until a customer orders, and the production price steps down at 10, 100 and 1,000 units a month.

See also: Cik maksā drukāšana pēc pieprasījuma? · Vai drukāšana pēc pieprasījuma ir ienesīga?

Reactive dye

Dye class containing “reactive groups” that form covalent bonds with cellulose fibres (cotton, linen). The bond is permanent — the dye becomes chemically integrated with the fibre rather than coating it.

Reaktīvā drukāšana

Industrial textile printing method using reactive dyes on cotton or other cellulose fibres. Produces the most durable colour bond available for cotton (typical wash fastness 600+ cycles), preserves original fabric handfeel, and is the textile industry’s premium standard. Read the full explainer.

REACH (EU Regulation 1907/2006)

EU regulation governing the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. All textiles imported to or produced in the EU must comply. Restricts AZO dyes, formaldehyde, phthalates, and dozens of other substances.

RMA (Return Merchandise Authorisation)

Process by which a buyer requests authorisation to return goods to a supplier. In B2B textile production, RMA typically requires evidence (photos), an order ID, and a reason code (defect, wrong item, damage in transit).

Rub fastness

Resistance of a printed colour to abrasion. Tested with a Crockmeter under standardised friction. Reactive prints achieve high rub fastness because dye is integrated with the fibre, not coated on the surface.

Sandbox API

A test environment that mirrors a production API without producing real goods or charging money. Fabrixa doesn’t run a separate sandbox host — instead you create a “build” sales channel to develop against, then switch to a “live” channel (with its own keys) for production. Same API, different keys.

Sanforisation

Pre-shrinking process applied to fabric to control post-wash shrinkage. Sanforised cotton typically shrinks <1% after first wash. Critical for premium apparel that needs consistent sizing.

Screen printing

Traditional textile print method using a stencilled mesh screen to apply ink. Excellent for high-volume single-design runs. Not viable at MOQ 1 (setup cost per design is high). Hand of the print depends heavily on ink type (plastisol leaves a thicker layer; water-based discharge inks penetrate the fibre).

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)

Unique product identifier covering a specific variant (product + colour + size + design). One reactive-printed t-shirt design in five sizes is five SKUs.

Steam fixation

Process step in reactive printing where printed fabric is steamed under controlled heat and humidity. Activates the chemical bond between reactive dye and cotton fibre. Without correct steam fixation the dye washes out.

Sublimation printing

Print method where dispersion dye is converted from solid to gas under heat and absorbed into polyester fibres. Excellent durability on polyester. Cannot work on cotton.

See also: Dye sublimation

Thread count (TC)

Number of threads per square inch in woven fabric. Standard bedding thread counts: 200TC (cotton percale), 300TC (cotton sateen), 400TC+ (premium sateen). Higher thread count generally means smoother handfeel but is not the only quality indicator (yarn quality matters more).

See also: Audums metrā

Twill

Weave pattern producing diagonal lines on the fabric face (denim is the most common example). Cotton twill bases are common for outerwear, work wear, and bag production.

Wash fastness

Resistance of a printed colour to fading during laundering. Measured by ISO 105-C06 or AATCC 61. Reactive prints typically grade 4–5 on the 1–5 scale — the textile industry’s top tier.

Webhook

HTTP callback sent from one system to another when a defined event occurs. The Fabrixa API sends signed webhooks on every order state transition (queued, printing, sewing, QC, packed, dispatched, delivered).

White-label

Production and dispatch of goods under the buyer’s brand identity rather than the producer’s. Includes neck labels, neutral packaging, return address, tracking emails. Standard for B2B textile production sold to platforms and brand owners.

White label (textile)

In textiles, white label means that one company produces a garment or home textile and another sells it under its own brand. The producer stays invisible: the parcel ships in neutral packaging with the return address and tracking of the seller, and no producer branding. At Fabrixa every order ships white-label, and on apparel a custom neck label with your brand can be sewn in from 1 piece.

See also: White-label · Print on Demand Latvija